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Monday, 29 November 2010

This morning I woke up to the very sad news that Leslie Nielsen had died. I am geniunely heartbroken about this. I have grown up watching his films, and I like to think that his genius first inspired my appreciation and love of comedy. I can quote nearly all of his films on demand - a fact that I am very proud of.

Another reason why this makes me so sad is because I never got to see him in person. Earlier in the year I had tickets to see him in conversation over at the BFI, but unfortunately he had to cancel. We all hoped that he'd be able to reschedule the talk at some point, but he didn't. It would have been amazing to see the man himself in the flesh, recounting stories from his incredible career, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

“Yes, it’s true - I’ve been called the Laurence Olivier of spoofs. I guess that would make Laurence Olivier the Leslie Nielsen of Shakespeare.”

Monday, 22 November 2010

First off, I'd like to say I'm a big fan of your work. Not only do you bring joy to children and young adults all over the world every year, but you also have a very impressive beard. Kudos to you, sir.

I think I've been a very good girl this year, but I know I can be quite hard to buy for. To help you find something you know I'll love, I've put together a little list of amazing things that are available to order online right now (only 33 days to go, Nick...the clock is ticking!). So if you would kindly bring me the following presents, I'd be much obliged!

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

Roughly two years ago, I decided to give jewellery making a go. I can't remember where the idea came from exactly. I didn't have a plan or goal in mind. I just knew it was something I wanted to try.

One of my first ever pieces...please excuse the awful photography!

Since then things have moved on a fair bit. Swell Vintage has gone from a small-time hobby to being my one true passion. So much so, in fact, that I have now quit my full-time office job and will be dedicating more of myself to my Swell love. It's my last day tomorrow, and I still can't quite believe I'm doing it.

A weird mix of feelings come with taking a big leap like this. First and foremost comes the fear - what if it all turns out to be a spectacular failure? What if everyone hates the jewellery I make and it doesn't progress any further? Fortunately, this is massively outweighed by the immense excitement that has been bubbling under the surface for months. Despite any doubts that are lingering, I know I'm doing the right thing. I'm finally going to be living my dream, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Sunday, 7 November 2010

On 2nd November 2010, I returned to my desk after a meeting to find two missed calls from my Mother. I called back straight away.

Me: Hi Mum, are you ok?Mum: I'm ok...but you're Grandmother isn't...

Haemorrhaging had unexpectedly occured in my Grandmother's brain, and she had suffered from a lot of internal bleeding. She died two hours later.

So many people have tried to describe how it feels when you're told someone you care about has died, but few rarely come close. It may seem like an odd point of reference, but I always thought that this quote from the children's book “Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events” sums it up best:

It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. It's like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down through the air and there's a sickly moment of dark surprise.

Add that winded feeling you get when you've been hit in the stomach to it, and I think you get pretty close.

When I was told that my Grandmother had died, I wasn't sure exactly how to feel. While I instantly felt that gut wrenching mix of shock and sadness, a part of me felt a quiet happiness. Before you go thinking that I am a terrible human being, let me explain: for the last 40 years of her life, my Grandmother had been a professional spiritualist. This meant that she was able to communicate with spirits, and she did so every day (she maintained at all of our dead relatives regularly sat on her sofa at once. They would all merge into one, and she was only able to tell how many were there by counting their feet.).

Now, I know there are a lot of sceptics out there. You may not agree or believe that spiritualism is real or even possible, but it doesn't matter – my Grandmother did. More than that, it made her happy. Unlike a lot of people, my Grandmother had no fear of death at all. In her later years, she even looked forward to it, because to her it meant that she would be reunited with all of her loved ones and that her spirit would live on.

My Grandma at her spiritualist church

I'm sorry if this post was not what you've come to expect from Swell Vintage, but I wanted to make a little tribute to my Grandma. She was a real character with a generous heart. I will miss her enormously, but I know that somewhere she is happy and at peace. This is what she always looked forward to, and I hope that she and all of my past relatives are having one hell of a party somewhere.